Cubasis 2 vs EQ550
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cubasis 2
This mobile music creation system allows users to record, edit, mix, and share their music. It offers real-time time-stretching, pitch-shifting, a studio-grade channel strip, and a variety of instruments and effects to enhance musical projects.
- Unlimited audio and MIDI tracks
- Real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting
- Virtual analog synthesizer and sampler
- Studio-grade channel strip with effects
- MIDI Editor with CC support
- Export to Cubase and cloud services
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*** CUBASIS 3 IS NOW AVAILABLE *** Enjoy a brand-new and fully redesigned Cubasis app, which runs on the iPhone and iPad, and adds many user-requested features and improvements! Cubasis 2 equals ease of use and is as powerful as a fully featured iOS-based music production system can be pushing your capabilities out of limits. Whether you’re capturing simple ideas or complex musical masterpieces — It ships with outstanding, touch-optimized tools carrying you into the fun of recording, editing, mixing and sharing your music with the world right away. Get fascinated by the brand new features that Cubasis 2 comes with such as real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting, a studio-grade channel strip, pro-sounding effects, massive instrument refills, a refreshed MIDI Editor and many more powerful features. Put hands on three internal instruments, numerous loops and instrument sounds to creatively lift your music to perfection using the included mixer and effects. Once recorded, share your music with the world via a simple tap or transfer it directly to Cubase. Key features • Unlimited number of audio and MIDI tracks • 24 assignable physical inputs and outputs • 32-bit floating point audio engine • Audio I/O resolution of up to 24-bit/96 kHz • iOS 32- and 64-bit support • Real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting featuring zplane’s élastique 3 • Micrologue virtual analog synthesizer with 126 ready-to-go presets • MicroSonic with over 120 virtual instrument sounds based on HALion Sonic, HALiotron and Allen Morgan drum kits • MiniSampler to create your own instruments (includes 20 factory instruments) • Mixer with studio-grade channel strip per track and 17 effect processors • Super-versatile RoomWorks SE* reverb effect providing uniquely professional sound and an intuitive graphical display for instant visual feedback at slightest parameter changes • Fully automatable DJ-like Spin FX effect plug-in • Over 550 MIDI and time-stretch-capable audio loops • Virtual keyboard, chord and drum pads with intuitive note repeat control • Sample Editor and Key Editor with MIDI CC support • Refreshed MIDI Editor with ultra-intuitive, lightning fast and accurate handling to edit MIDI tracks and compose music easier than ever before • MIDI Auto Quantize • Track Duplicate • Automation, MIDI CC, program change and aftertouch support • Export to Cubase, iCloud Drive, external hard drives, wireless flash drives, Dropbox, SoundCloud, AudioCopy and email • Core Audio and Core MIDI compatible hardware supported • MIDI over Bluetooth LE support • Full Audio Unit, Inter-App Audio and Audiobus 3 support to use compatible apps as insert/send effects and virtual instruments or simply record their audio output • Import audio from your iTunes music library or iCloud Drive or iTunes file sharing, use AudioPaste or set up a Wi-Fi server in Cubasis • Audio mixdown and MIDI export • MIDI clock and MIDI thru support "Probably the best iPad-based DAW in terms of usability and flexibility, and it links up with Cubase on your desktop, too." — MusicTech.net "So all in all Cubasis is a hands down victory. Everything supplied here works and works perfectly. If you are a Cubase user and own an iPad, this is simply a no brainer, you have to have it." — askaudiomag.com Technical support http://www.steinberg.net/cubasisforum Polyphony: 48 voices: iPad 2, iPad mini 128 voices: iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro *User registration required to unlock RoomWorks SE reverb effect. Audio Unit extension requires iPad Mini 2, iPad 4 or newer model. Audio Unit and Waves plug-in (in-app purchase) automation requires iOS 10 or higher. Audio Unit MIDI and Files app require iOS 11 or higher. Project export to Cubase requires Cubase Pro 9/Pro 9.5, Cubase Artist 9/9.5, Cubase LE/AI/Elements 9 or higher. Cubasis project importer extension must be installed and is available at http://www.steinberg.net/cubasisimporter
EQ550
This audio effect plugin emulates classic American EQs from the late 1960s, offering precise control over equalization with unique Proportional Q technology. It functions as a standalone app or an AUv3 plugin for compatible hosts, providing a flexible and characterful sound shaping experience.
- Standalone and AUv3 plugin
- 3 bands of classic American equalization
- Proportional Q filter bandwidth
- Stereo, Mid, or Side EQ modes
- Undo/Redo and A/B comparison
- Scalable GUI
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EQ550 AUv3 plug-in — comes as time-limited Demo-version for you to try. It gives you 5 minutes of Free play time. (You can reload the EQ550 AUv3 plug-in as many times as you want, thereby you get the Demo period again and again.) Unlimited version of EQ550 AUv3 plug-in comes as In-App Purchase. The EQ550 faithfully captures the punch, low-frequency transparency, and ultra-tight imaging of iconic American EQs of the late 1960’s. Making use of Proportional Q intuitively widens the filter bandwidth at minimal settings and narrows it at higher settings without the need for additional bandwidth controls. This unique feature minimizes the «phase-shift» sound found in many equalizers. Features: • Standalone and AUv3 plug-in; • 3 bands of classic American equalization; • Each band offers 7 selected frequency centers; • Maximum 15dB of boost/cut per band; • EQ Band 1 and 3 offer shelf/peak switching; • Proportional Q narrows filter Q at extremes; • Stereo (Mono), Mid or Side EQ modes; • Undo/Redo; • A/B comparison; • 2x/4x/8x Upsampling; • Macro controllers; • Built-in Gain Match; • Scalable GUI. The EQ550 provides reciprocal equalization at 21 points in 5 steps of boost to a maximum of 15dB of gain at each point. The twenty one equalization points are divided into three overlapping ranges. The high and low frequency ranges are individually selectable as either peaking or shelving, and a band-pass filter may be inserted independently of all other selected equalization settings. Frequency ranges and boost/cut are selected by switches, and a pushbutton «IN» switch allows the EQ to be silently introduced to the signal path. A small toggle switch is used to insert the band-pass filter into the EQ550. The EQ550 extends the features of the original hardware and joins the flexibility of the digital world to the character of the analog processing. Allows you to choose between equalizer modes (Stereo, Mid, Side) and remove analogue saturation from the processing circuit to deliver pure digital sound. To use EQ550 as a plug-in, you need an AUv3-compatible host app like GarageBand, Auria, AUM, Cubasis and more — EQ550 will appear in the list of Audio Unit extensions for effect plug-ins in the host app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: EQ550 at Free against Cubasis 2's $23.99. EQ550 also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Cubasis 2's advantage is review sentiment (58% vs 33%) and ratings volume (239 vs 11). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
EQ550 is free to download; Cubasis 2 costs $23.99 up front. Cubasis 2 sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and EQ550 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
EQ550 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cubasis 2 has 239 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Cubasis 2's written reviews are positive against 33% of EQ550's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Cubasis 2 ships an update every 3 months, EQ550 monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cubasis 2 | EQ550 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $23.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.9 (239 ratings) | 4.5 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.3% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 239 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.1 GB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH | RRS, OOO |
Customer experience
Cubasis 2
EQ550
Bugs and requests
Cubasis 2
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when loading certain third-party plugins
- MIDI sync issues with external hardware
- Waveform display glitches when zooming
- Incompatibility with older iPad models
Requested features
5 requests- MIDI control mapping for external controllers
- Tempo and time signature automation
- Improved audio editing tools
- More built-in instruments and sound libraries
- Seamless Cubase project integration
EQ550
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cubasis 2
- Micrologue ARP$4.99
- Waves Tune Real-Time$4.99
- FX Pack 1: Reverbs & Delays$6.99
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- FX Pack 2: Vintage FX$6.99
- Classic Machines$6.99
- Waves AudioTrack$7.99
- Waves L1 Ultramaximizer$7.99
- Waves Q10 Equalizer$7.99
- Waves Plug-in Bundle$19.99
EQ550
- RRS EQ550 Unlimited$4.99









